Ronak Kapadia

Ronak Kapadia is an Associate Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), with affiliations in Art History, Global Asian Studies, and Museum and Exhibition Studies. His interdisciplinary work bridges critical ethnic studies, decolonial feminisms, and queer/trans-of-color critique, focusing on race, sexuality, war, and empire. He directs UIC’s Interdepartmental Graduate Concentration and leads initiatives like the 2023 Veteran Art Triennial. His award-winning book *Insurgent Aesthetics* examines contemporary art’s resistance to U.S. militarism.

Education: PhD in American Studies (NYU, 2012), MA (NYU, 2008), BA (Stanford, 2005). Research explores healing justice, abolition, and the sensorial impacts of war. Awards include UIC Scholar of the Year (2022-23) and Silver Circle Teaching Excellence.

Grants include NEH Dialogues on War (2022) and Mellon Foundation support. His public scholarship includes podcasts on drone warfare and MIA’s music. He advises on *Verge: Studies in Global Asias* and teaches courses on queer theory, abolition, and climate feminisms.